01. Alsvartr (The Oath)02. Ye Entrancemperium03. Thus Spake The Nightspirit04. Ensorcelled By Khaos05. The Loss And Curse Of Reverence06. The Acclamation Of Bonds07. With Strength I Burn08. The Wanderer09. In Longing Spirit [reissue bonus]10. Opus A Satana [reissue bonus]11. The Loss And Curse Of Reverence [live][reissue bonus]

I started listening to Emperor with the last work of the band: Prometheus. Yes, that album was good, but there were too much "addings" that shouldn't be found in a Black Metal album in general. I appreciate the progressive elements though in some parts of the disc. Hearing this I was a little sceptic about the other Emperor works, but at the same time curious.

One of those albums that blows you away no matter how many times you've listened to it. Quite literally timeless. I'm not really sure why some people give this masterpiece so much flak. Musicianship is breathtaking, production is decent (great compared to their contemporaries...), and the songwriting is very professional.

This album is awesome, even though it's not my favorite Emperor release. The mixing on the vocals makes it sound buried underneath the music, even more so than on "In The Nightside Eclipse" to be honest. I found that to be a distracting factor, because Ihsahn's vocals are among the best in black metal. Nonetheless, this is great.

I can definitely see the musicianship in this release but I still cannot fathom why the shitty production and the indiscernible instruments is a desirable factor....I guess black metal just isn't for me.

I can definitely see the musicianship in this release but I still cannot fathom why the shitty production and the indiscernible instruments is a desirable factor....I guess black metal just isn't for me.

Shitty production? I don't see what you're on about here to be honest... if you don't like this at all, then I guess symphonic black metal indeed isn't your thing, because it doesn't get much better than this.

Anyway, like their debut, this album is totally amazing... although I like this one less than Into The Nightside Eclipse.

I can definitely see the musicianship in this release but I still cannot fathom why the shitty production and the indiscernible instruments is a desirable factor....I guess black metal just isn't for me.

Shitty production? I don't see what you're on about here to be honest... if you don't like this at all, then I guess symphonic black metal indeed isn't your thing, because it doesn't get much better than this.

Anyway, like their debut, this album is totally amazing.

Edit: Production isn't shitty and the instruments are rather discernible

November was a depressing time with exams and the like, probably took out my frustrations through disdainful posts on Metal Storm :S

I can definitely see the musicianship in this release but I still cannot fathom why the shitty production and the indiscernible instruments is a desirable factor....I guess black metal just isn't for me.

Every bit as good as the band's debut in my opinion, though it seems to me like Emperor's sophomore effort has more experimentation going on. This all contributes to another excellent set of symphonic black metal songs however, and what I love more than anything is the melodic, atmospheric mid-sections of "The Loss of Curse and Revenence" and "In Longing Spirit". That said, my personal highlights are definitely "Ye Entrancemperium", "The Loss of Curse and Revenance" and "With Strength I Burn".

Fucking time makes you forget everything, at least for a time...what a philosophical phrase today I was digging through my music library and I stumbled at this one...long time passed since I've heard this album, so it was time to recollect some memories... oh man, this was a total blast! this album is beyond words! this is the real meaning of perfection! aggression, atmosphere, structure...just everything fits inhere! even the production, which is in general bad (some drum parts are barely audible and so are vocals in some parts), adds some stylistic flavor to a whole thing which makes aggression even more furious! this is truly a masterpiece! fuck, this is classic stuff man! highly recommended!